Pupil Influence on the Future Direction of the School

Viewforth pupils participated in the Fife wide Pupilwise survey in November 2014. The results for individual schools were made available in March 2015. Viewforth High School staff considered the findings at a whole staff meeting and also in subsequent Faculty meetings. Following these discussions the Rector met with pupil focus groups to address the issues raised and look more widely at areas focussed on by HMIe pupil questionnaires. The document summarises notes taken during the focus groups.

General Findings

Pupils were happy to discuss the various supports available to them. They appreciate that parents, peers, teachers, our support staff and year heads all have a part to play in “being people to go to when they were worried or upset” (Question 5)

Pupils were very positive about the level of our interest in their wellbeing and know that they are cared for in school. They appreciated the many factors that contribute to a strong school ethos. Those joining the school were especially positive about our P7 into S1 transition process (Q24).

They identified high levels of mutual respect (Q20); they believe “we are good at helping pupils behave well” (Q21) and that we are good at helping them sort things out (Q4).

Our pupils are very positive about the high quality of the teacher pupil interaction in the classroom. They value a good rapport and believe that teachers use a wide range of strategies to help them understand. They think highly of the efforts we make to involve them in clubs, teams and in community activities.

Pupils expressed a desire to “have a say in making how we learn in school better”. In response a programme for Sampling Learners’ Views will be put in place with feedback collated by PTC discussed at Faculty meetings.

A significant proportion of our pupils have indicated that they are “uncertain about the progress they are making in their learning” and also about “what they can do to improve” (Q11&12). This may be a reflection of the new Nationals and the new terminology for monitoring progress in the BGE. In response to this we are putting in place a programme of “Learning Conversations” designed to allow class teachers to discuss current levels of learning and specific steps for improvement.

Our senior pupils indicated that they wanted more help with getting ready to leave school. In response we are introducing a number of initiatives to help pupils identify career pathways; support them into positive post school destinations and also to help them sustain these in their first year after leaving.